Ice-making machine and dispenser



ICE-MAKING MACHINE AND DISPENSER Filed April 14, 1965 INVENTOR HOWARD L.LUNDE ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,276,224 ICE-MAKING MACHINE ANDDISPENSER Howard L. Lunde, 0conto, Wis. Filed Apr. 14, 1965, Ser. No.448,015 6 Claims. (Cl. 62344) This invention relates to improvements inice-making machines, and more particularly to an ice cube machine havingnovel, sanitary means for dispensing the ice cubes.

In conventional ice cube-making machines, the ice cubes normallyaccumulate in a compartment adjacent the top of the machine cabinet, andwhen someone wishes to remove some cubes for use in water glasses or thelike he merely opens the cabinet top cover and reaches in with his handsto grasp and remove the cubes. However, in hospitals and otherinstitutions wherein sanitation is critical, as well as in restaurantsand the like, this conventional method of handling ice cubes isunsatisfactory because it promotes the spread of germs. Moreover, inmany instances it has been found that persons place soft drink bottles,or other foodstulfs, in the ice cube compartment in order to keep themrefrigerated. This also likely to contaminate the ice cubes with dirtand germs, of course, and is very undesirable.

With the above considerations in mind, the principal objects of thepresent invention are to provide an improved ice-making machine whereinthe ice is dispensed mechanically, without being touched by human hands,and which machine is so designed that soft drink bottles and the likecannot be placed in the ice compartment.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an icecube-making machine having novel means in the cube compartment forpreventing the ice cubes from freezing or sticking together in a mass,as frequently occurs with conventional ice machines.

Still further objects of the invention are to provide a novel andimproved ice making machine which is rugged and durable in construction,which is simple and dependable in operation, and which is otherwiseparticularly well adapted for its intended purposes.

With the above and other objects in view, which other objects andadvantages of the present structure will become apparent hereinafter,the invention comprises the improved ice-making machine hereinafterdescribed, and illustrated in the drawing, and also any and allmodifications or variations thereof as may come within the spirit ofsaid invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein there is illustrated one preferredembodiment of the invention, and wherein the same or similar referencenumerals designate the same or similar parts in all of the views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective, exterior view of the improved ice cube-makingmachine;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view with the cabinet brokenaway to show the novel cube-dispensing mechanism and its associatedcomponents; and

FIG. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view through the cabinet,taken along line 33 of FIG. 2.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawing, theillustrated ice cube-making machine comprises a rectangular cabinethaving a front wall 10, rear wall 11, side walls 12 and 13, and a topcover 14. Projecting outwardly from the front wall is an open-bottomdischarge chute 15 under which a bucket or other container 16 may bepositioned to catch the ice cubes as they are ejected from the machine,as will be described. Said cabinet can be provided with suitableinsulation means, and it is to be understood, of course, that theexterior design of the illustrated cabinet, as well as the size andproportions thereof, are not critical with respect to the "ice novelcube-dispensing mechanism comprising the present invention.

It will be noted that the top cover 14 in the present structure issecured to the cabinet side walls by means of screws 20 or the like.Thus, in contrast to conventional machines wherein the top cover may beraised to provide access to the cube compartment, with the improvedmachine comprising the present invention it is impossible forunauthorized persons to open the cabinet for the purpose of placing softdrink bottles and the like therein. Moreover, the hood-like dischargechute 15 prevents users from reaching into the cabinet opening 19 forthat purpose.

Housed within the upper portion of the cabinet, directly under saidcover 14, is the ice cube-making apparatus. Said ice-producing unit isconventional in design and function, including water supply means,refrigerant coil, compressor, etc, and since said devices are so wellknown in the art it has not been illustrated, nor will it be describedin detail herein.

With reference now to FIG. 2 of the drawing, mounted on the interior ofthe cabinet front and rear walls 10 and 11 are short, downwardly andinwardly inclined deflectors or baffles 17 and 18, respectively, andsaid cabinet front wall 10 is provided with an opening 19 therebelowcommunicating with the aforementioned cube discharge chute 15. Thebottom wall 21 of said cabinet interior chamber is angled rearwardly anddownwardly, as shown, to direct any water caused by melting ice to draintoward the rear of the cabinet, and a drain pipe 22 is provided at theback to permit the withdrawal of said water out of view and withoutinterferring with the access to the front part of the machine. Moreover,the rearward pitch of said bottom 21 prevents water from running out theopening 19 in the cabinet front wall, and into the cube recep tacle 16,which is undesirable.

As appears in FIG 3, mounted within the cabinet interior are inner sidewall members 23 and 24 having downwardly and inwardly angled portions 25and 26, respectively, and formed integrally on the lower ends of thelatter are vertical portions 27 and 28, the lower ends of which areinterconnected by the aforementioned bottom member 21. Thus there isprovided a funnel-like struc ture which is adapted to direct ice cubesproduced by the ice-making apparatus thereabove downwardly into arelatively narrow, elongated channel formed by said side members 27, 28,and bottom 21. Said bottom channel, which is designated by the numeral29, communicates with the discharge chute 15 and extends from the frontto the back of the cabinet, as shown in FIG. 2. Like all of thecomponents within the present machine, said inner wall members areformed of stainless steel, to ensure maximum sanitation.

Rigidly mounted within and adjacent the top of the cabinet in theillustrated form of the invention is a channeled cross bar 31 whichspans the cabinet side walls, and extending downwardly therefromintermediate the length of said bar are a pair of rigid, closely spacedparallel bracket arms 32 and 33, said arms projecting downwardly to apoint spaced above the cabinet lower channel 29. Rotatably projectedthrough said bracket arms intermediate the height thereof is atransverse rod 34 ('FIG. 3) which extends across the width of thecabinet, said rod being journaled in the inner side walls and havingsuitable sealed bearings 30, and one end of said rod projects outwardlythrough the cabinet side Wall 13 and is provided with a crank or handle36 on the cabinet exterior. Mounted on and for rotation with said rod 34between the bracket arms 32, 33 is a pinion 37, the function of whichwill be hereinafter seen.

A transverse bolt or stud 38 is carried by and between the lower ends ofthe bracket arms 32, 33, and rotatably mounted thereon is a gear sector39 which extend-s upwardly to mesh with the aforementioned pinion 37. Asbest appears in FIG. 2, elongated transverse rods 41 and 42 are weldedor otherwise permanently secured on the toothed periphery of said gearadjacent the ends thereof to function as stops, thus limiting the rotaryor pivotal movement of said gear within approximately an 80 arc when itis driven by said pinion. Moreover, said rods 41, 42 are preferably ofunequal lengths (FIG. 3) and are provided with transversely deflectedend portions, said rods providing novel means for breaking up the iceand preventing the cubes from sticking together within the cabinetinterior, as will be described.

Fixed to the lower end of said rotatable gear 39 is a leg 43 whichextends downwardly into the cabinet bottom channel 29, said leg havingan icebreaking arm 44 projecting therefrom, and pivotally secured to thelower end of said leg is a link 46 connecting said leg and gear sectorto a lug 47 on the front of a box-like ejector member 48.

As is shown, said ejector member 48 is rectangular in form and isdesigned to closely movably fit within the cabinet bottom channel 29.Said ejector is movable from the rearward position illustrated in fulllines in FIG. 2 to the forward position shown in broken lines therein,and is actuated through the pivotal motion of the gear 39, through theconnecting leg 43 and links 46, 47. A rod 49 is carried on the undersideof said ejector member adjacent each longitudinal edge thereof (FIG. 3),and closelyspaced pairs of rods 51, 52 are mounted on the cabinet bottomto provide guideways within which said upper rods 49 slidably fit, thusproviding track means to facilitate the forward and backward traversingmovement of said ejector 4 8 during the operation of the presentinvention, as will now be explained.

In the use of the novel machine comprising the present invention, icecubes are formed by a conventional cubemaking apparatus (not shown)housed in the upper portion of the cabinet, and as said cubes areproduced they are funneled downwardly and inwardly by the hopper walls25, 26 into the lower, channel-like compartment 29. When it is desiredto remove a quantity of ice cube-s, the user positions a container 16beneath the discharge chute 15, and he pushes the handle 36 rearwardly.As hereinabove described, the rod 34 on which said handle is mounted hasa pinion 3'7 thereon which meshes with the gear 39, and thus when saidrod and pinion are rotated by the action of said handle 36, the gear andattached leg 43 thereon are pivoted about the stud '38.

Pivotal movement of said gear 39 in a counter-clockwise direction causesthe depending leg 43 thereon to swing rearwardly and to thus push theejector member 58 to its rearwardmost position or station, as shown infull lines in FIG. 2, thereby permitting ice cubes from the hopper tofill the channel 29. The user then pulls the handle 36 forwardly tocause the gear 39 to pivot in the opposite direction, and the ejectormember 48 is drawn forwardly through the linkage 43, 46, 47 to thebroken line position of FIG. 2. As said ejector moves forwardly itengages the ice cubes in the channel, of course, and pushes a quantityof said cubes out the discharge chute 15 and into the container 16therebelow, from which they can be individually removed with a tongs orthe like. The result is a unique dispensing mechanism which eliminatesthe necessity for manually handling the ice cubes.

If it is desired to withdraw more ice, the user merely pushes the handle36 to return the ejector to a rearward position, thereby allowing thechannel 29 to be refilled with ice cubes from the hopper, and forwardmovement of said handle 36 will then cause the discharge of additionalcubes. With respect to said handle 36, incidentally, it can be of anydesired length, and a handle somewhat longer than that illustrated mightbe preferred for some machines in order to obtain greater leverage. Inaddition, while the handle in the illustrated form of the invention canbe pivoted approximately 80, corresponding to the vantages over theprior art.

travel arc of the gear sector 39, this can be varied to suit particularrequirements, depending upon the size of the machine and the requiredtravel of the ejector 48, etc., and the invention is not to be limitedin this respect. Moreover, it is contemplated that the manual ejectoractuating mechanism illustrated and described herein could be readilyadapted to a motor drive, and the invention is by no means to beconfined to a manually-powered dispensing apparatus. What is novel inthe present invention, and what is intended to be covered herein, is theconcept of an ice machine having means therein for mechanically ejectingthe ice cubes without the necessity of their being handled or touched.

With reference again to FIG. 2 of the drawing, it Will be seen that thedownwardly-angled deflector or baffle 13 on the cabinet back wall isdesigned to prevent ice cubes in the hopper from falling between saidwall and the rear of the ejector 48 when the latter is in its forwardposition, which could prevent the return travel of said ejector to itsrearward station. The bafile 17 on the cabinet front wall is designed toprevent ice cubes in the hopper from accumulating too far forwardly inthe channel 29, and possibly inadvertently falling through the dischargechute J15 when the machine is not being operated.

As hereinabove mentioned, the ice breaking rods 41, 42 and 44, carriedby the movable, coacting gear and arm members 39 and 43 are importantelements of the invention. Without said breaking members ice cubeswithin the hopper might freeze together in groups or in a mass, assometimes occurs in conventional ice making machines, and which not onlyproduces an inferior product but which can jam the machine and render itinoperative. With the present structure, however, movement of said gearand arm members 39, 43 during each dispensing operation causes saidelongated rods 41, 42, 44 thereon to move through the accumulated icecubes to break them up and forcibly shift them about, thus reducing thepossibility of said cubes freezing or sticking together and obstructingsubsequent operation of the dispenser.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be seen that the presentinvention provides a new and improved ice cubemaking machine havingseveral important ad- Principally, of course, the present machine isespecially well adapted for use in hospitals and other institutionswherein sanitation is critical, as well as in restaurants and the like,because the present invention makes it unnecessary to manually handlethe ice cubes, and because the machine cannot be used as a refrigeratorfor storing soft drink bottles and the like. Moreover, thepresentmachine is provided with novel means for preventing the ice cubesfrom freezing or sticking together, said machine is rugged and durable,it is simple and reliable in operation, and it is relatively inexpensivein design and construction.

It is to be understood, of course, that the structure.

hereinabove described is intended merely as an illustrative embodimentof the invention, and numerous changes or modifications may be madetherein without departing from the intended scope of the invention. Itis contemplated, for example, that other cabinet designs and sizes couldbe employed, and the dispensing mechanism could be power driven in lieuof the hand-operated model shown, as well as numerous other variationsin the details of construction. Moreover, the dispenser could beadvantageously utilized in a machine producing chip or crushed ice, aswell as cubes. In short, what is intended to be covered herein is notonly the illustrated form of the invention, but also any and allmodifications or variations both in the construction and use thereof asmay come within the spirit of said invention, and within thescope of thefollowing claims.

What I claim is:

1. An ice cube machine, comprising: a cabinet having a pair of sidewalls, a rear wall, and a front wall, said front wall having a cubedischarge opening in its lower portion; a cover secured on the top ofsaid cabinet; an ice cube-producing apparatus in the upper portion ofsaid cabinet; a funnel-like hopper in said cabinet below said icecube-making apparatus and adapted to receive ice cubes produced thereby;an elongated channel formed integrally on the lower end of said hopperand adapted to receive ice cubes therefrom, said channel extending fromthe back of the cabinet to the front thereof and communicating with saiddischarge opening; a horizontal rod rotatably journaled in said cabinet,said rod projecting through one of said cabinet side walls and having ahandle on its outer, projecting end; a piniOn mounted on and forrotation with said rod; a gear sector pivotally mounted below saidpinion and meshing therewith; stop means limiting the pivotal movementof said gear; mova-ble ice-breaking means operatively associated withsaid gear member adapted to forcibly separate ice cubes in the hopper toprevent the same from sticking together; a leg on the lower end of saidgear extending downwardly into said cabinet lower channel; and anejector member movably carried in said cabinet channel and connected tosaid gear leg, whereby pivotal movement of said gear and leg, throughrotation of said rod and pinion, will cause said ejector member to moveforwardly or rearwardly in said channel, forward travel of said memberpushing a quantity of ice cubes in said channel outwardly through saiddischarge opening, and rearward travel of said ejector permitting saidchannel to be refilled with ice cubes from the hopper thereabove.

2. An ice cube machine, comprising: a cabinet having a pair of sidewalls, a rear wall, and a front wall, said front wall having a cubedischarge opening in its lower portion; an open-bottom discharge chuteprojecting from said cabinet front wall in registration with saiddischarge opening; a cover secured on the top of said cabinet; and icecube-producing apparatus in the upper portion of said cabinet; afunnel-like hopper in said cabinet below said ice cube-making apparatusand adapted to receive ice cubes produced thereby; an elongated channelformed integrally on the lower end of said hopper and adapted to receiveice cubes therefrom, said channel extending from the back of the cabinetto the front thereof and communicating with said discharge opening; avertical bracket in said cabinet extending downwardly to a point spacedabove said lower channel; a horizontal rod extending through androtatably journaled in said bracket, said rod projecting through one ofsaid cabinet side walls and having a handle on its outer, projectingend; a pinion mounted on and for rotation with said rod; a gear sectorpivotally mounted on the lower portion of said bracket and projectingupwardly to mesh with said pinion; a pair of elongated, transverse barssecured in spaced relationship on the periphery of said gear sector toprovide stop means engageable with said pinion limiting the pivotalmovement of said gear, and said elongated bars functioning asice-breakers when said gear member is pivoted to forcibly separate icecubes in the hopper to prevent the same from sticking together; a leg onthe lower end of said gear extending downwardly into said cabinet lowerchannel; an elongated ice-breaker bar attached to said leg; and anejector member movably carried in said cabinet channel and connected tosaid gear leg, whereby pivotal movement of said gear and leg, throughrotation of said rod and pinion, will cause said ejector member to moveforwardly or rearwardly in said channel, forward travel of said memberpushing a quantity of ice cubes in said channel outwardly through saiddischarge chute, and rearward travel of said ejector permitting saidchannel to be refilled with ice cubes from the hopper thereabove.

3. The ice cube machine recited in claim 2, and Wherein the bottom ofsaid channel is angled rearwardly and downwardly, and having a drainopening in the rearward portion of said channel bottom to permit waterformed by melting ice to drain from said cabinet.

4. The ice cube machine recited in claim 2, and having: a bafile on thecabinet back wall extending downwardly and forwardly at an anglethereto, said baffle preventing ice cubes in the hopper from fallingbetween said back wall and the rear of the ejector member when thelatter is in a forward position.

5. The ice cube machine recited in claim 4, and having: a second batheextending downwardly and rearwardly from the cabinet front wall, saidsecond baffie being adapted to prevent ice cubes in the channel frominadvertently falling outwardly through the discharge chute when themachine is not in operation.

6. An ice cube machine, comprising: a cabinet having a pair of sidewalls, a rear wall, and a front wall, said front wall having a cubedischarge opening in its lower portion; a cover secured on the top ofsaid cabinet; an ice cube-producing apparatus in the upper portion ofsaid cabinet; an elongated channel positioned below said cube-makingapparatus and adapted to receive ice cubes therefrom, said channelcommunicating with said discharge opening; a rod rotatably journaled insaid cabinet, said rod projecting through one of said cabinet walls andhaving a handle on its outer, projecting end; an eject-or memberlongitudinally-movably carried in said channel; connecting meansoperatively connecting said rod and ejector members whereby oscillationof said handle and rod will cause said ejector member to move forwardlyor rearwardly in said channel, forward travel of said ejector pushing aquantity of ice cubes in said channel outwardly through said dischargeopening, and rearward travel of said ejector permitting said channel tobe refilled with ice cubes from said cube-producing apparatusthereabove; stop means limiting the oscillating movement of said rod;and movable ice-breaking means operatively associated with saidconnecting means adapted to forcibly separate ice cubes in the cabinetto prevent the same from sticking together.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 263,096 8/ 1882Barker 222245 1,472,280 10/1923 Ousdahl 222409 2,607,520 9/ 1952Bateman. 3,021,035 2/1962 Hill 222-245 ROBERT A. OLEARY, PrimaryExaminer. W. E. WAYNER, Assistant Examiner.

6. AN ICE CUBE MACHINE, COMPRISING: A CABINET HAVING A PAIR OF SIDEWALLS, A REAR WALL, AND A FRONT WALL, SAID FRONT WALL HAVING A CUBEDISCHARGE OPENING IN ITS LOWER PORTION; A COVER SECURED ON THE TOP OFSAID CABINET; AN ICE CUBE-PRODUCING APPARATUS IN THE UPER PORTION OFSAID CABINET; AN ELONGATED CHANNEL POSITIONED BELOW SAID CUBE-MAKINGAPPARATUS AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE ICE CUBES THEREFROM, SAID CHANNELCOMMUNICATING WITH SAID DISCHARGE OPENING; A ROD ROTATABLY JOURNALED INSAID CABINET, SAID ROD PROJECTING THROUGH ONE OF SAID CABINET WALLS ANDHAVING A HANDLE ON ITS OUTER, PROJECTING END; AN EJECTOR MEMBERLONGITUDINALLY-MOVABLY CARRIED IN SAID CHANNEL; CONNECTING MEANSOPERATIVELY CONNECTING SAID ROD AND EJECTOR MEMBERS WHEREBY OSCILLATIONOF SAID HANDLE AND ROD WILL CAUSE SAID EJECTOR MEMBER TO MOVE FORWARDLYOR REARWARDLY IN SAID CHANNEL, FORWARD TRAVEL OF SAID EJECTOR PUSHING AQUANTITY OF ICE CUBES IN SAID CHANNEL OUTWARDLY THROUGH SAID DISCHARGEOPENING, AND REARWARD TRAVEL OF SAID EJECTOR PERMITTING SAID CHANNEL TOBE FILLED WITH ICE CUBES FROM SAID CUBE-PRODUCING APPARATUS THEREABOVE;STOP MEANS LIMITING THE OSCILLATING MOVEMENT OF SAID ROD; AND MOVABLEICE-BREAKING MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID CONNECTING MEANSADAPTED TO FORCIBLY SEPARATE ICE CUBES IN THE CABINET TO PREVENT THESAME FROM STICKING TOGETHER.